The agency would be charged with protecting consumers from questionable credit cards offers, bank loans and other financial offerings. Here's a statement from PA Rep. Paul Kanjorski, a member of the committee.

As you'd expect, the American Bankers Association expressed its displeasure with the House committee vote, and the Consumer Federation of America lauded it. Here's more from the Associated Press:

Democrats are hailing the 39-29 vote as a win for the average American. It is a major step forward in enacting President Barack Obama's plan to tighten the rules governing Wall Street, although the measure still faces scrutiny by the full House and Senate.

The legislation has been the target of an aggressive multimillion-dollar lobbying campaign by the financial industry, which contends that the agency would have dangerously broad reach.

Thursday's vote indicates that Democrats were willing to shrug off those concerns and are likely to pass the bill on the floor by the end of the year.

President Barack Obama said the vote "sends an important signal to the American people that we will not stand by and allow big financial firms and their lobbyists to mobilize against change."

Also on Thursday, the committee was set to approve legislation that would impose new rules for credit cards on Dec. 1. A similar bill already passed Congress but won't take effect until mid-February.

Democrats have said the proposed ConsumerFinancialProtectionAgency would help to reach across various businesses to stop fraud and abusive practices. That regulators didn't monitor nonbank institutions like mortgage brokers was considered a major factor in subprime lending abuses that led to the housing market crash.

But there is plenty of fine print that will limit the new agency's scope.

Banks that help those businesses complete financial transactions would still fall under the agency's purview. For example, a bank that issues a store-brand credit card or provides auto financing would be subject to agency rules.

Rep. Gwen Moore, a Democrat from Wisconsin with a major private mortgage insurer in her district, on Wednesday pushed though another exemption for credit, mortgage and title insurers.

Rep. Barney Frank, who chairs the panel, said exceptions were being made to clarify that the agency will monitor financial products and not every financial transaction made by the American public. But he scoffed at several Republican proposals, including one by Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga. that would have exempted student loan providers. Frank charged that those provisions were aimed at gutting the bill.

Highlights of legislation approved by the House Financial Services Committee to create a ConsumerFinancialProtectionAgency, or CFPA:

— The agency would oversee such common financial products as mortgages, credit cards, payday loans and terms on savings accounts.

— It would be in charge of implementing a law passed by Congress this spring that protectsconsumers from sudden interest rate increases on unpaid credit card balances.

— Most banks and credit unions, already monitored by other regulators for "safety and soundness," would be spared from agency examinations. Only banks with more than $10 billion in assets would need to open their books to CFPA officials.

— Several industries would be exempt from CFPA oversight, including retailers, auto dealers, lawyers and accountants. Gift cards would not be monitored by the agency. Lawmakers said the goal was to regulate financial products, not all financial transactions.

— While retailers would be exempt, financial institutions tied to them would not. For example, the bank that offers a store-brand credit card or the institution that provides financing through an auto dealer would still be subject to agency rules.

— The bill does not include a mandate proposed by the Obama administration that banks offer standardized, "plain vanilla" products such as a 30-year fixed mortgage, as the administration wanted.

— The bill also eliminated an administration proposal to require that banks take reasonable steps to ensure customers understand what they were buying. Democrats said the measure would be too hard to enforce.

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